That’s A Rap: Chatting with William Lou

The 2021 off-season may go down as an all-timer!

No, I’m not talking only about the Raptors, but how Rogers Sportsnet was able to construct a Raptors-focused broadcast lineup!

The media conglomerate brought in The Athletic’s Blake Murphy, Scotiabank Arena’s Digital Host, Emily Agard, and Yahoo’s Alex Wong and — this week’s special guest — William Lou, to name a few. Their respective voices and impact will now expand to a larger, national audience and, more importantly, show a glimpse of the diversity that basketball media has to offer.

Jason and I sat down with Will to talk about his road to 590, different career options, and, of course, our beloved Raptors! This episode could also be an all-timer, so make sure to have a listen and chime in with your thoughts below.

In This Episode:

2:40 — Started from the bottom

From writing “10 Things” in his Notes app (and screen-shotting for Twitter) to having a daily talk show focused on the Toronto Raptors, Will and Alex have shown that determination and “choosing your lane” can lead to extraordinary outcomes.

8:24 — Representation matters

In addition to hosting the first-ever, nationally syndicated radio show dedicated to the Raptors, Will & Alex also represent an Asian community that’s been mainly shut out of the media industry. Does Will feel any extra pressure knowing that they’ve broken through a cultural barrier and are now standard barriers for all aspiring Asian journalists?

17:02 — Basketball Jones -> Tim & Sid -> The Raptors Show

Just as Dalano Banton grew up idolizing and learning from the DeMar DeRozan / Kyle Lowry Raptors, Will looked up to the Basketball Jones podcast and learned the ropes from Tim & Sid. What did he learn and how are he and Alex approaching their show from a different angle?

21:30 — Professor Lou

Almost two years ago, Will tweeted that he’d be teaching a basketball writing course. I was one of a handful of folks to sign up. To say it was worth every penny would be selling it short. Will was extremely generous with his time, very organized with structuring the course material, and ensured every student walked out of each class with relevant information that we could use immediately. Is a teaching career in Will’s future?

30:38 — Young squad

Oh right, we should probably talk about the Raptors! The season is still young, but so is this Raptors squad, and they certainly aren’t playing like they’re new to this. In particular, Scottie Barnes has been everything the Raptors could have hoped for and so much more. Coming into the season, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam were supposed to represent the present and the future of this team while Barnes, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn prepare to step up. Barnes has already played his way into a core piece and has raised the ceiling on what this Toronto team can achieve!